Witches were a bit like cats. They didn’t much like one another’s company, but they did like to know where all the other witches were, just in case they needed them. — “A Hat Full of Sky,” Terry Pratchett

Good morning and happy Monday.

I finished “Big Brother”; the review will be out next week. I won’t repeat myself here, but I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The ending is not what I expected, but it’s overall well constructed and carefully developed. I really love books that are about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and “Big Brother” definitely is one of those.

I’m moving on now to something completely different: Terry Pratchett. “Hat Full of Sky” is the sequel to “The Wee Free Men,” which I wrote about in the summer reading thread (still accepting ideas, by the way, and just added one myself in the comments).

There was a Q&A in Sunday’s paper with Roanoke native Liza Mundy who has a book out called “The Richer Sex.” It examines the challenges of women who are the breadwinners in their households. “I think we are having a really robust conversation about working parents and working mothers,” she told Danielle Dunaway. I am tempted by the book, I love this kind of topic.

If you were using Twitter on Sunday evening, you probably saw #thewhitequeen trending. It’s a 10-part BBC adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s book about Elizabeth Woodville who married Edward IV. In the tumultuous decades after, we got Richard III, the War of the Roses and the Tudors.  I’ve the read the book and it was … OK. I have “The Red Queen” at home and have yet to crack it open. I did read “The Kingmaker’s Daughter” about the Neville sisters (Anne Neville married Richard III), and I enjoyed that one.

Anyway, I quite like BBC productions, so I might get into “The White Queen” if it makes it onto Netflix or Amazon prime. It is nice to see a medium move away from the Tudors, I feel they’ve been done to death.

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Whenever I encounter a picture of myself, the first thing I assess is my weight. I am attached to particular photographs not because they memorialize a signal occasion, but because they depict me as thin. I could probably arrange my every photo in a precise order of preference that would perfectly correspond to a continuum of my size. — “Big Brother,” Lionel Shriver

Hey ho, I am still immersed in my Lionel Shriver novel. It is, if you will pardon the pun, delicious. It tackles so many relationships — with food, with partners, children, siblings. Shriver has a real talent for articulating ideas I personally have a hard time putting into words, and for presenting thoughts of which I was not conscious (see the quote above about photographs).

In book news, Iain Banks, author of “The Wasp Factory,” has died. Who here has read it? I have heard of it, and I’ll put it on my reading list. I’m interested to hear from anyone who has read Banks’ work.

We’ve had some beautiful, sunny days the past week, and I’ve been more inclined to go out on the greenway with the dog than open my book. Have you read anything good this weekend?

If you’re in the market for something good, “Inferno” by Dan Brown is still atop the best-sellers list. This is the last week of my competition to win a hardback copy; I’ll pick a winner Friday. I’ve had some really interesting responses; this is not going to be easy!

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I propose: food is by nature elusive. More concept than substance, food is the idea of satisfaction, far more powerful than satisfaction itself, which is why diet can exert the sway of religion or political zealotry. Not irresistible tastiness but the very failure of food to reward is what drives us to eat more of it. — “Big Brother,” Lionel Shriver

Read that quote up there and tell me Lionel Shriver doesn’t have a point. It jolted me; I admit I have a complicated relationship with food, and Shriver’s words hit me in the heart. I knew as soon as I read that that this book was going to be great. It is. I’m not that far into it, but it’s wonderful. The review should be out this month. If Lionel Shriver sounds familiar to you, she — and yes, Shriver is a woman — wrote the critically acclaimed “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” about a fictional school massacre. I haven’t read it, but “Big Brother,” which explores relationships between family and food, makes me want to sample other of Shriver’s work.

If you read the news last week, we’ve had a couple of book-related items. Amanda Codispoti, who runs the Storefront blog, previewed an independent book store that opened in Wasena over the weekend. If anyone went, let me know, because I’m interested in what kind of selection they have. Bravo to them; opening any kind of store is risky business, but especially a book store in an age where most people order their books online or use an e-reader.

My co-blogger Dana Bailey did a Q&A with Roanoke author R.S. Belcher who wrote “The Six-Gun Tarot.” He talks about the process of writing that book, plus what he’s working on now. We ran a review of “The Six-Gun Tarot” back in April. You can still comment on that review, by the way, or talk about the book here.

Finally, in national news, today is the first day of an antitrust trial involving Apple. The Justice Department accuses the company of conspiring to raise e-book prices as it competes with Amazon.com. I’m sure you can get the latest news from Googling, but The L.A. Times lays out what’s going on in a preview story.

Whew! Lots of book stuff going on. Everything is fair game for comments, plus, as always, tell me about your own reading — that awesome free book you scored for your Kindle, that library book that sounded better on the cover, that book you can’t wait to come out. I’m still taking recommendations for summer vacation reads; and “Inferno” by Dan Brown is up for grabs. I think I’ll let the competition ride out at least another week, maybe a week and a half, then pick a winner. Spread the word, the more the merrier!

The weather’s been crazy lately, but it’s starting to feel as though summer’s just around the corner.

When I think of summer, I think of vacation; and when I think of vacation, I think of what books I’m going to pack.

You could argue that for avid readers, there’s no such thing as summer vacation reading, that we read what we like to read and the location doesn’t matter. I disagree. A few years ago, I went on a cruise. The sun shone, the ocean sparkled, the food was delicious, and I had a wonderful time—except for those couple of days when I read “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. It’s so depressing, even the punctuation had abandoned it. No matter how beautiful my surroundings, those were a sad couple of days.

The answer to what makes a great summer vacation read varies from person to person. I want something light, yet still substantial. There’s a good chance I’ll take a nap or wander off for a snack midchapter, so a book I can return to easily. Something that makes me think, but doesn’t weigh on my mind.

Below are my top picks for summer vacation reading. There’s a mix, because who packs just one book, right? But they meet my criteria: fun, simple and engaging. You might have a different list, and I want to hear it. The plan is to run a compilation in the newspaper, just when summer really kicks in. So tell me what you think makes a good summer vacation read and recommend some titles.

“The Wee Free Men,” by Terry Pratchett

If you love fantasy and satire but aren’t familiar with Terry Pratchett, let’s change that. Pratchett has been writing the Discworld series for about 30 years, and he gets better and better. Discworld satirizes our own world; Pratchett riffs on diplomacy, sport, Hollywood, religion, just about every institution and facet of society. There are plenty of recurring characters, and the books occasionally refer to past events, but you don’t have to read them sequentially.

“The Wee Free Men” is one of Pratchett’s few novels for children rather than adults. The heroine is 9-year-old Tiffany Aching, and when the queen of the elves steals her little brother, she taps into her latent witch powers and goes to get him back, with the help of little blue (usually drunken) creatures called the Nac Mac Feegle.

I admit that when I first got this book, I wasn’t sold on it. I enjoy plenty of young adult fiction, but 9 is a little young for a heroine, and the little blue creatures seemed obnoxious. But I’m a big Pratchett fan, and his Discworld novels are so funny and smart, so I gave it a whirl. And I loved it. It might be geared toward kids, but it’s something adults can enjoy, like Pixar in a book. Neither the plot nor the writing is as sophisticated as Pratchett’s other novels, but there was enough sass and sparkle to hold my interest all the way through. For lovers of young adult fiction, or fantasy in general, I recommend it.

 “The Little Women Letters,” by Gabrielle Donnelly

This is a book I likely never would have read had it not tied in to a book I’ve read many times: “Little Women,” by Louisa May Alcott.

The story revolves around three sisters. There’s smart, stubborn, unconventional Lulu who is trying to find her direction in life; big sister Emma, responsible and successful; and young, artistic, pretty Sophie. I’ll let you figure out how they correspond to the March sisters—Jo March, by the way, is the women’s great-great-grandmother, and letters she wrote to her own sisters decades ago are woven into the story of these three descendants. Lulu, Sophie and Emma have a wise, compassionate, patient, understanding mother, too. Guess it runs in the family.

It’s fluff, I won’t deny it; however, the “Little Women” angle makes it stand out a little more than other fluff. If you enjoy “Little Women,” you might enjoy comparing the March sisters and this crop, and Jo’s letters correspond to her own adventures decades ago (or at least they do as far as my memory takes me). Lulu’s mother is eye-rollingly saintly at times, but the other characters are likeable enough, and the book as a whole is easy on the brain. It’s not a bad way to while away the hours.

“Raiders From the North,” by Alex Rutherford

Historical fiction holds a special place in my heart, and it’s the bulk of what I review.  Most of the stuff I read is very Euro-centric, so it was nice to step away from that into 15^th- and 16^th-century Asia, with characters I’d never heard of in a setting unfamiliar to me.

The main character in this book is Babur, who becomes ruler of a land near Afghanistan as a young teen. It’s a dangerous age at which to assume power, and soon he is ousted and roams as far as India, maturing and conquering along the way.

This isn’t glitzy, breezy historical fiction, but nor is it ponderous. It’s a nice, middle-of-the-road balance, well written and well paced. There are enough details to keep the book interesting, but not so many it bogs the story down. The characters are strong and consistent, and if Babur’s feats seem a bit extraordinary, well, they aren’t outrageous enough to detract from the story. In all, it’s a good, solid read.

“Ex-Heroes,” by Peter Clines

This book came out as a reprint earlier this year and has received many positive reviews, with some saying it has tones of “The Walking Dead.”

The book is set in Los Angeles after zombies have overrun the United States (possibly the world). A community of humans is holding out in a former movie studio; their guardians are superheroes, who usually have no problem keeping the zombies at bay, or the gangs that roam the city. But a new type of zombie has appeared with powers that will test the will and strength of everyone.

Much as I enjoy a good superhero novel, I’m not fond of zombies. I find them more creepy than fun, but this combination really intrigued me. The novel gets off to a shaky start—there are loads of characters, and it switches from present to past in a way that requires some adjusting—but the book soon finds its feet, and there’s some light humor in the occasional mention of zombie celebrities. The science behind the zombies is fairly interesting, the reveal of the virus’ cause is a nice twist, and the final battle between heroes, zombies and gang members is flat-out awesome. For a novel with a shaky start, it sure accelerates into a smooth ride and spins to an elegant stop.  Well done, that writer.

Do you read differently when you’re on vacation? What are your top books for a summer vacation read?

In this month’s open book stuff thread, I mentioned the antitrust lawsuit the Justice Department has brought against Apple. Apple is accused of conspiring with a handful of publishers to fix e-book prices as it tries to break into the e-reader market.

I don’t own an e-reader or a tablet; like a lot of people, I like how books feel in my hands, how they smell, how they look in colorful rows on my shelves (and I’m afraid I’d break the thing in 24 hours). But when I think of e-readers, the first name that springs to mind is the Kindle, followed by the Nook. Those are the brands my friends and family use. Popular as Apple products are, it’s hard to imagine the company breaking past Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

I’ve yet to meet anyone who regrets buying an e-reader. The users I know rave about how portable and convenient they are, and that you can get books so cheaply. A copy of “Inferno” by Dan Brown costs $12.99 for the Kindle; the hardcover will set you back $17.15, down from the retail price of a whopping $29.95. Barnes and Nobel is selling the e-book for the same price and the hardcover is just a few cents more. (But you can get the hardcover for free on the blog.) An e-reader is a wise investment, because it will save you money in the long run. Plus, you can find older books for just a few dollars, and many self-published authors offer their books for free. A few people have recommended such free or almost free e-books.

Me, I’m going to wait until I’ve gone through all the unread books here at home before I think about buying an e-reader. No sense buying the electronic version when the paper version is right here. But when I am ready for it, which e-reader would you recommend I buy? If you use Apple to read electronic books, has the lawsuit affected your view of the company or use of the product?

Photo by Associated Press | File 2010

When my friends first saw my father and I side by side in college, they looked from one to the other and later told me  they were amazed by how much I resembled him. It’s true; this apple didn’t fall far from the Wardle tree.

Apparently I walk and stand like my dad. I like SUVs like my dad. I’m an adventurous eater like my dad. We have the  same personality, which made my teenage years so much fun, ha ha.

But dad and I differ in key ways. He is up like a lark, I keep hours like an owl. He downs multiple mugs of tea every day, I can’t abide the stuff. I think “Happy Gilmore” is hilarious. My father, the avid golfer, well, he doesn’t.

And we like to read different things. My dad likes thrillers, crime and “Day of the Triffids.” I rarely foray into  those genres. Similarly, my dad isn’t likely to settle on the sofa with Jane Austen or the latest Terry Pratchett.

However, he does love to read, and although my mother has introduced me to many favorite authors, my dad does get my  relationship with books. When my mother suggested I prune my children’s books, it was my dad who understood why the idea pained me. He’s never articulated it, but I think he understands I have memories, experiences and emotions tied up in these blocks of paper to which I’ve clung possessively over decades.

Not an actual image of my father. | Image courtesy of redwalldictionary.webs.com

My favorite book-father memory is from when I was 11 years old, maybe younger. My dad was doing some work at my grandparents’ house. I was reading a Redwall book by Brian Jacques, one of those series with talking animals that attracts many a little girl. In the Redwall books, the moles talk with a rustic English dialect — something like, “Oi loik zoop, zoop is noice, boi ‘okey, hurr hurr.” I loved sounding this out, it was so different to my own speech. But how to make sure I was doing it right? Ask dad, of course.

I remember the moment well: There’s my dad, in work boots and shorts and a faded golf shirt, sweaty from working, probably doing something quite labor- and time-intensive. And there’s me, fixated on how make-believe talking moles actually sound, suddenly popping up and asking him to “read this bit.”

And he did, rustic accent and all.

So as Father’s Day approaches, I want to say thanks, dad. Thanks for pretending to be a talking mole (hurr hurr), thanks for letting me hold on to my books and, most of all, thanks for all the millions of times you’ve interrupted yourself for my sake.

What’s your favorite father-related memory of books? Dads, what special book-related moments have you shared with your kids?

Even then, to be sure that this was what God willed, I promised Him that if the child were a boy I would leave him with you. Only if the baby were a girl would I take her, for the child I lost, and the mistress, and the love. I prayed for you, ‘Nesa. I prayed that it would be a boy, but He has decided. … This child, this girl is mine. I claim her in justice’s name. — “Sold for Endless Rue,” Madeleine E. Robins

I hope everyone is having a lovely Memorial Day weekend. I finished “Sold for Endless Rue,” the recasting of the tale of Rapunzel. I won’t say too much because the review will be out in a couple of weeks. I’m about to start “Big Brother,” by Lionel Shriver, who also wrote “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” Which I’ve heard of, but have not read, but I hear it’s excellent.

I mentioned this is the comments, but it’s worth saying again — Khaled Hosseini has a new book out, “And the Mountains Echoed.” It’s gotten fabulous reviews, and I’m keen to read it. Has anyone read it yet, and what did you think? I enjoyed “The Kite Runner,” although the ending didn’t impress me that much. Still, I hadn’t read anything like it and I think it’s one of those books everyone should read. Is it a 21st-century classic? You tell me. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” touched me much more.  Parts of it made me so angry, to think of how Mariam and Laila’s husband treated them. It’s making me angry to remember.

So what have you been reading, what do you want to read next? Are you keen to read Hosseini’s new book?

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She uprooted three of the plants and bound them together to carry with them. “Never take more than you need. Plants are like a town: if you take all the strongest, the babes and old folk die.” — “Sold for Endless Rue,” Madeleine E. Robins.

There were a lot of great comments on last week’s open book stuff thread, so I’m updating the original thread to preserve them all. Next month I’ll start a new thread and link to this one. I was thrilled to see so much discussion, I did a little jig every time I visited the blog.

I finished “Jude the Obscure,” by Thomas Hardy,” over the weekend and highly recommend it, especially for those who like “Tess of the D’Urbervilles.” I’ve half a mind to re-read “Tess” to examine the comparisons and contrasts between the two novels. Interestingly, these two were the last novels Hardy wrote before he concentrated on poetry, and they are the two society found most controversial. Hardy was a man with ideas well before his time.

The book I’m reading now, “Sold For Endless Rue,” by Madeleine E. Robins, is of a different genre. It’s a retelling of the tale of Rapunzel set in 13th-century Sicily. I plan to review it later, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I like it so far. It has a cozy feel to it, the kind of book you can curl up with in bed and read to set your mind at rest. Maybe even a good summer vacation read!

What did you read this weekend, and what did you think of it?

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As soon as the horse had learnt the road and the houses at which he was to pause awhile, the boy, seated in front, would slip the reins over his arm, ingeniously fix open, by means of a strap attached to the tilt, the volume he was reading, spread the dictionary on his knees, and plunge into the simpler passages from Caesar, Virgil, or Horace, as the case might be, in his purblind stumbling way, and with an expenditure of labour that would have made a tender-hearted pedagogue shed tears. — “Jude the Obscure,” Thomas Hardy.

This thread is a free-for-all for book stuff — share what you finished reading this weekend, what you started, what caught your eye at the bookstore. I consider movie adaptations of books fair game, so feel free to talk about “The Great Gatsby.”

I’m reading “Jude the Obscure.”  In that quote at the top, Jude, about 9 years old, is determined to enter university at nearby Christchurch and has started teaching himself Latin and Greek with the help of some old books and a dictionary. The quote stood out at me because that’s very determined for such a young child, and how many of us have balanced a book precariously so we can read while we do something else?

Jude’s not going to make it, by the way; you can tell by a) the title and b) the fact it’s a Thomas Hardy novel. Characters rarely make it in Thomas Hardy novels, his books are sadder than wet chickens. He is one of my favorite authors, however, and “Jude” has yet to sag in the middle, as I find many Hardys do.

Oh, and that image to the left is of a bookmark I own. I love bookmarks; I pick a new one at random with every book I start, and I’m always tickled if they are completely different.

How is your reading coming along? And if you saw “The Great Gatsby,” what did you think?

A couple of my past posts have touched on classic literature — I talk about “Jude the Obscure” by Thomas Hardy in the open book stuff thread and “The Catcher in the Rye” in my Mother’s Day post.

I really like classic American and British literature. I love how layered those books are and how they make me think. I love interpreting actions and words and looking for symbolism. If there’s one part of high school I miss, it’s group discussions about literature where we discussed all of this. And when I was in college, some friends and I got together one afternoon and read “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare, each of us taking one or two parts. I don’t care how nerdy that makes me sound, that was a really fun time and I would love to do it again.

But what elevates books to the level of classic? It’s not age, because lots of old books fade into obscurity. Good writing counts, obviously. The book must be intelligent, but not overly complicated. There’s still a story involved, and that part must be well executed, even though the goal is beyond plain entertainment. There are so many variables, and they are all subjective. On top of that, the age and maturity level of the reader also make a difference. I doubt I’d feel the way I do about “Catcher in the Rye” had I picked it up at 23 versus 16.

I think ultimately, it’s the timelessness of the lessons in a book that elevate it to a classic. No matter in which era the book is set, the wisdom within the pages still applies. And this despite the fact a lot of classics are snapshots of the societies and cultures in which they were written. Yet while they are windows into that time, they transcend it.

There are lots of books that deserve the label of classic. I’ve picked three that I think most deserve the label, based on my own criteria.

“To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee

I read this book for the first time in high school and it was the first one where I thought, “This truly is a classic.” This is a masterful book, beautifully written. I love Scout and how clearly atypical she is in her Southern town. She is in turns bold, pensive, scrappy and thoroughly intelligent and charming. I love steadfast, upright Atticus, who is so wholesome and confident yet never crosses the line into unbearable. I love how Harper Lee conveys the children’s confusion and resilience during a time of great turbulence. The conflict of whether people are good or bad or both and why plays out marvelously in the setting and through the characters. My favorite scene? When Jem and Scout realize they don’t have enough snow to build a snowman and improvise, and Atticus tells Jem, “I’ll never worry about what’ll become of you, son, you’ll always have an idea.” Lee’s novel is perhaps the ultimate coming-of-age tale.

“Jane Eyre,” by Charlotte Bronte

This is my favorite Bronte novel even though Charlotte is not my favorite Bronte sister. I read this in English class as a preteen and have read it countless times since. I find Jane realistic as a child and as an adult; her passion and depth of feeling are portrayed well throughout the novel. I admit I find the supernatural elements, such as Uncle Reed’s ghost and Rochester’s voice echoing across the heath, unrealistic, but I’m willing to overlook them. Jane, like Atticus, is very steadfast, but that inner wildness that bursts out now and then makes her very human and appealing. I admire Jane for her independence and morals. She knew that if she chose to be kept by Mr. Rochester, even if she wouldn’t have to worry about material possessions ever again, she would always worry about something even more precious: her values. It’s such a simple lesson, but generation after generation, we fail to learn it. My favorite scene? When Mr. Rochester and Jane finally declare their love and a bolt of lightning splits the chestnut tree shortly after. Oh, man.

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” by Oscar Wilde

If anyone dislikes Wilde, please tell me why. Granted his witticisms and pithy comments are plastered all over the Internet, but I don’t consider him tiresome or overrated. In fact, I’d say he’s underrated. Most people are familiar with this play and Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” but how many have read “An Ideal Husband” or “Lady Windermere’s Fan”? I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Wilde, and I’d like to read more of his plays, except I dislike reading plays on my own. Anyway, the character of Archie really makes the play for me, with his laugh-out-loud observations that swing between nonsensical and profound. Settings provide crucial context for most books, but it matters so much here. Wilde is satirizing popular dramas of the Victoria era, while making wry commentary about the era itself. The plot is contrived, but the writing is brilliant. My favorite scene? The very end where everyone hugs and Jack realizes the Importance of Being Earnest.

What are your favorite classic books? What makes a classic? Which 21st-century books do you see becoming classics in the future?

My mother is the best. She runs a cupcake shop in Pennsylvania, and her s’mores cupcake is named for me because I love chocolatey, marshmallowy, graham crackery things. If ever you’re in the Lehigh Valley, track down her shop.

There are two other ways my mother impresses me apart from her baking skills: her ability to find clothes that both fit and suit me and her knack of finding books I like to read.

My mother introduced me to my first David Sedaris book (“Holidays on Ice”), my first Jasper Fforde (“The Eyre Affair”), my first J.K. Rowling (“Sorcerer’s Stone”), my first Piers Anthony (“A Spell for Chameleon”), my first Robert Asprin (“Phule’s Company”) and my first real cookbook (“500 Five Ingredient Recipes”). Although she scolds me occasionally for having little on my Amazon wish list other than books, she’s indulged me over the years. She suggested just once that I clear out my old children’s books, but never raised the issue again when I firmly refused. I think she worried a bit when I was a teen and preferred to spend my time reading than with actual people, but she’s never actively discouraged me. (See, mother, I turned out all right.)

But my favorite mother-book memory is when my parents gave me “Catcher in the Rye” for Christmas when I was 16. This is one of my favorite books, probably because I was just the right age and temperament to identify with Holden Caulfield. It is the first book that ever made a huge, lasting impression on me, the very first one to stick with me ever since I read it. It’s special not just for that, but for the inscription inside:

We hope you enjoy this classic book as much as we’ve enjoyed seeing you become the lovely and classic young lady you are.

Because of my mother, I learned how to make spaghetti pie, the difference between wire and plastic hangers, how to kill a tick I pulled off the dog and the importance of putting away my clothes (sorry, mother, still working on that last one). But what will stick with me for life are the books she gave me, the lessons they taught me, the fun I had with them, the memories I have of them and the memories yet to come.

Thank you, mother, for gifts I will never lose.

How has your mother influenced your reading? What are your fondest book-related memories of your mother? Moms, what books are you looking forward to introducing to your kids?

Press release from Random House Children’s books:

BLUEBIRD
A Lonely Boy. A Little Bird. A Friendship Tested.

“Many children face senseless violence and thoughtless bullying in their young lives and struggle with ways to deal with their anxiety. It was important for me to find a way to address these issues, so I crafted this tale of loneliness, friendship, loss, and loyalty in hopes that the story might serve as a lesson for not only the bullied, but the bullies as well.” —Bob Staake

Random House Children’s Books is thrilled to present “Bluebird” (On Sale April 9, 2013 / Schwartz & Wade Books) by award-winning illustrator and New Yorker cover artist Bob Staake, heralded by The Washington Post as “one of the most dynamic, original, colorful and humorous cartoonists working today.” Staake’s latest creation is a visually stunning and emotionally moving picture book about a lonely boy, a little bird, and a friendship put to the test.

Staake has been working on this book for over 10 years and believes it is the book he was born to write. Increasingly alarmed by the violence that children are exposed to in the world, he sought to create a book to help picture book–aged children understand the harshness of bullying and the comfort of a meaningful friendship. “Bluebird” became the means to this goal, exploring loneliness, friendship, and loss in an abstract and poetic way. The story’s striking conclusion is left open to interpretation. Staake explains that by creating an ambiguous ending, “children can resolve “Bluebird” in their own personal—and empowering—way.”

Readers will be captivated as they follow the journey of a bluebird as he develops a friendship with a young boy and ultimately risks his life to save the boy from harm. The tale unfolds in blues, grays and blacks, with color entering the pages at the story’s end. The Horn Book raves, “A story of friendship, of unfolding awareness, or of a more universal kind of love, this quietly beautiful book invites repeated perusals.”

Wordless picture books like the Caldecott Medal winners “A Ball for Daisy” by Chris Raschka and “The Lion and the Mouse” by Jerry Pinkney are becoming more and more popular, and Staake is welcome addition to the canon of artists sharing stories solely through illustrations. He is the author of over 50 books for children and his iconic characters have become mainstays in classroom and home libraries. Both simple and evocative, this timeless and profound story will resonate with readers.

Have you ever bought a book and then returned it to the store? How about an e-book?

Amazon’s  e-book return policy says if you notify them within seven days of purchase they will refund the full amount.

Change.org is petitioning Amazon to change this policy saying people are purchasing e-books, reading them, and then returning them for a full refund.  They equate this to “people going into a restaurant, buying a meal, then asking for a refund after [they’ve] already eaten it.”

After the refund is made, the e-book is no longer available; however is this a deterrent if it’s already been read?

According to change.org people have admitted to abusing this policy. They say it’s stealing from the author.

Barnes & Noble does not allow Nook book refunds.

Have you heard of this? What is your opinion on this policy?

When: April 6 through April 13

Where:  South County Library

The Friends of the Roanoke County Public Library will host their semi-annual Spring Book Sale April 6 through April 13 at South County Library in Roanoke. South County is the new headquarters library located at 6303 Merriman Road across from Penn Forest Elementary School. The sale will take place during regular business hours: Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. except on Friday, when the library closes at 6:00 p.m.

The book sale will have thousands of fiction and non-fiction books, children’s books, videos, DVDs, and audiobooks on sale at incredibly low prices. Friday, April 12, is Half-price Day and Saturday, April 13, is Box Day. On Box Day, customers can bring a box and fill it full of books for only $3.00!

The Friends Book Sale is the Library’s main fundraiser. Book sale organizer, Priscilla Johnson, encourages everyone to come early for the best selection. Adds Johnson, “We not only have used library books but also many of our patrons donate books that they’ve bought and read. These books are in like-new condition and sell for significantly less than what you’d pay in a store.” All proceeds benefit the Roanoke County Public Library system. For more information, call (540) 772-7507.